Middle Infielders.

"Not sure if you saw it, but former Met great Jeff Kent retired yesterday. Now we ask, is he a Hall of Famer?

There’s a guy who works here at The Daily News who insists Kent is Cooperstown bound. No doubt about it, he says. I hear the same sentiment on radio and TV. Believe it or not, I disagree."

I don't believe it.


"Kent has 74 more homers than Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Famer, who, until Kent broke it, held the record for HRs by a second baseman. If you judge him solely as a second baseman, he’s in, no questions asked."

He should be judged as a second baseman because never regularly played any other position. But he's hardly a definitive HOFer, "no questions asked."

This is a very odd argument.

I don't know where this is heading.


"But I say Kent cannot be looked at as a second baseman, especially in this day and age where middle infielders all over baseball are putting up numbers usually posted by outfielders and third baseman."

Thirty teams, two middle infielders per team. That's sixty middle infielders, more or less. I can think of three who put up big power numbers: Ramirez, Utley, and Uggla.

ARod doesn't play shortstop anymore. Tejada and Garciaparra used to put up big numbers.

You know how many shortstops had 100 RBIs last year? Zero.


"We have to start judging players - other than catchers - as all part of the same pool. Is Nomar Garciaparra a Hall of Famer because he put up big numbers at shortstop?"

Unbelievable. He's actually comparing Kent to Garciaparra.

The precise reason Kent is a HOFer and Garciaparra is not is because Kent did it for a long time. Kent is a second baseman who accumulated 1,500 RBIs. Garciaparra only has 920 RBIs, maybe 700 as a shortstop.


"Kent was never a great fielder. He had to hide somewhere and most teams chose to put him at second base."

That makes no sense at all. That is completely illogical and uninformed.


"Albert Belle has more homers (381) than Kent. Is he a Hall of Famer?"

I think Belle is a HOFer, but you can't compare him to Kent, because he played OF while Kent played 2B.


"Gary Sheffield has more homers (499), hits (2,615) and RBIs (1,633) than Kent. Is he a Hall of Famer?"

Yes, of course Sheffield is a HOFer. But again, you're comparing and OFer to a 2B. It's not a fair comparison and you keep saying it is and every time you do it you are wrong.


"Andres Gallarraga (399), Dale Murphy (398), Joe Carter (396), Jason Giambi (396), Vlad Guerrero (392), Graig Nettles (390), Dwight Evans (385), Harold Baines (384), Larry Walker (383) and Matt Williams (378) all have more homers than Kent. Only Guerrero has a legit shot to make it to Cooperstown."

Zero second baseman in the list.

Oh, and Larry Walker will probably make the HOF. Jeff Kent, too.